


this = love

by Nutella_enthusiast



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Music Store, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, M/M, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 08:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3404312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nutella_enthusiast/pseuds/Nutella_enthusiast
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>According to 90s teen movie law, if you make someone a mixtape it means you're interested in them. Danny's really interested.</p>
            </blockquote>





	this = love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skaboom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skaboom/gifts).



> For the lovely Skaboom/[purplehoodiesandleatherjackets](http://purplehoodiesandleatherjackets.tumblr.com/) I'm sorry I didn't finish this when u were feeling sad but I hope u like it anyways and that your date was perfect and you have many more in the future.
> 
> UPDATE: There are finally [playlists](http://mahealaheys.tumblr.com/post/130241147956/according-to-90s-teen-movie-law-if-you-make) to go with the fic

"I'm looking for a walnut acoustic with a rosewood fretboard, do you know if you've got anything like that coming in anytime soon?"

Danny looks up from his psychology book to see a very pretty blonde boy wearing a peacoat and a scarf and leaning up against the headphone display.

"Excuse me?" Danny asks, taking out one of his earbuds.

"Walnut acoustic with a rosewood fretboard," repeats the guy, confirming Danny's suspicions that he wasn't actually speaking English.

"I can... Check in the back?" offers Danny weakly, hoping his boss will know what this guy is talking about.

"Thanks," says the guy, looking down at the tray of guitar picks on the counter. Danny shuts his book with a sigh and puts it down on his chair, hoping pretty hipster boy can't hear the One Direction blasting from his headphones. He gets the feeling that he wouldn't approve of his studying music, guilty pleasure or not.

He slips into the back room and pushes his way past the rows of cellos, towards the break room where his boss is no doubt hanging out with his boyfriend.

"Scott?" he asks, pushing the door open and slipping inside, coughing at the cloud of smoke that hits him.

"Danny boy!" calls Stiles from where his head is pillowed in Scott's lap.

"Hey man," says Scott, grinning brightly and continuing to run his fingers through Stiles' hair. "What's up?"

"I've got a blonde hipster in a peacoat out front who's looking for a rosewood acoustic with a walnut fretboard?"

"Is that a thing?" asks Stiles.

"I think you mean walnut acoustic with a rosewood fretboard," says Scott, taking a last hit of his joint before scooting out from under Stiles and handing it back to him. 

Danny shrugs cluelessly. He only took this job because it was available and he wanted to start making a dent in his student loans. 

Scott grins and reaches for the door. "I'll talk to him."

"You want some?" asks Stiles, holding the joint out to Danny.

"I'm good."

***

Pretty hipster boy comes in again the next day around the same time, wearing the same peacoat with a different scarf.

"Hey, can I help you with anything today?" asks Danny, putting his anthropology textbook aside and pausing the Hoodie Allen blasting through his earbuds.

"Yeah, I need some new headphones."

"Hey, I can actually help you with that one," says Danny with a grin. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and wraps his earbuds around it, putting them down on top of his textbook and sliding off the stool he's been sitting on for the last hour. His shirt rides up as he stretches, his back popping alarmingly loudly, and he smirks when he sees PHB's eyes linger on the strip of exposed skin for a moment before he pulls it down.

"So we've got Beats over here," he says, gesturing to the display the boy had been leaning against the day before. "But if I'm being honest, they're not really worth the money. You can get the same sound quality from these and they cost about half as much." He reaches under the counter and pulls out a pair of Skullcandy earbuds.

"I'm actually looking for a pair of noise canceling ones?" says the boy. "I live with my sister, and she has her boyfriend over a lot."

Danny cringes sympathetically. "I get that. I've walked in on my roommate and his girlfriend more times than I'd like to think about. I can get you the ones I've got if you want."

"Perfect," says PHB. He's even prettier when he smiles.

***

The boy is in the empty store when Danny comes running in ten minutes late the next day. "We've got to stop meeting like this," says Danny, throwing his messenger bag down behind the counter and pulling off his jacket. "I don't even know your name."

"Isaac," says the boy, not looking up from the display next to the counter that Danny had stayed late the night before to restock, replacing the headphones with capos for the new month.

"Did Scott just leave you here alone?"

Isaac shrugs. "I'm here a lot. I guess he trusts me. And Stiles had his hand in his hand in his back pocket so... Do you have this one in black?" he asks, holding up an obnoxiously pink capo.

"It should be there," says Danny, walking around the counter and leaning over Isaac's shoulder to look at the display too. "Yeah, it's right-" he pauses, realizing exactly how close he is to Isaac as he reaches around him to point at one of the capos. "Um," he says, taking a step to the side. "Right there. I'm Danny by the way."

"I know," says Isaac, reaching down to grab the capo that Danny had pointed to.

"What?" asks Danny. 

"You wear a name tag," says Isaac, throwing the capo down on the counter. "Usually at least."

"Oh," says Danny, blushing and reaching down to grab his name tag from behind the counter and fasten it onto his shirt. "Right. Um. That'll be $9.83."

Isaac reaches into the pocket of his improbably tight skinny jeans for his wallet and Danny tries not to think about what he'd look like without them.

***

"Nice shirt," says Isaac when he comes in the next day. Danny pauses his Sia and looks up at the blonde standing across the counter from him.

"You like The Script?" he asks, glancing down at his "this = love" shirt. He'd been trying not to wear any of his band t shirts into work, sure that someone would judge him for them, but he'd been running late that morning, and this was the only clean shirt he could find. "I thought you'd be all about like... Neutral Milk Hotel, or the Decemberists or something."

"What can I say, I'm an enigma," says Isaac, picking up a pack of guitar picks, checking the price, frowning, and putting them back. "Do you have something against the Decemberists?"

Danny shrugs. "I don't think I've ever actually listened to them. You just... Look like a Decemberists fan."

Isaac laughs. "Yeah, I guess I do. At least I don't look like a Justin Bieber fan."

Danny gasps in mock outrage. "You take that back!"

Isaac shrugs and turns away with a smirk. "You have any new vinyl in?"

"Yeah, there's a box in the back that we haven't sorted yet. You want me to grab it for you?"

"That'd be great, thanks."

Danny stands up and heads for the curtain to the back room, unable to keep a smile off his face.

***

"How do you feel about Cake?"

Danny looks up from his psychology textbook in alarm as Isaac comes rushing through the door, hair messy and crooked glasses perched on his nose. 

"I like red velvet?" he asks, unsure of how else to respond.

"Nonono, not cake. Cake." says Isaac as if that explains anything, running a hand through his hair and straightening his glasses. Danny's never seen him wearing them before, but they're exactly the kind of glasses he would have expected him to wear, with thick black frames and a bit of tape holding one of the arms on. It's a little distractingly hot.

"I don't-" beings Danny. He's not sure what else to say.

"The band? Comfort Eagle, Opera Singer, Short Skirt/Long Jacket?"

Danny shrugs, and Isaac sighs. "Seriously?" asks Isaac. "Haven't listened to the Decemberists, haven't heard of Cake. I thought I knew you."

"What can I say," says Danny with a smirk. "I'm an enigma."

Isaac frowns. "I've got a bus to catch. I'll be back tomorrow."

It takes Danny a moment to realize that Isaac hadn't actually bought anything, and another to remember that Scott had given him the next week off to study for midterms.

***

Danny never thought he'd be glad to return to work after his week off, but there's something strangely cathartic about walking back into the music store after being gone for seven days. Even the faint sound of classical music filtering through the speakers and the smell of pot from the back room don't bother him as much.

"Danny boy!" shouts Stiles, emerging from the back room the moment Danny puts down his bag. "We missed you!"

Danny smiles faintly. He's not going to admit it, but he missed Stiles a little bit too.

"Isaac came in and asked about you," says Scott, following Stiles out of the curtain and making no effort to cover the huge hickey on his neck.

"Oh?" asks Danny, looking down to hide his smile. "What did he say?"

Scott shrugs. "Just said he had something for you. I told him you'd be back today and then he left before I could ask what it was."

Danny makes a mental note that that makes it twice that Isaac has come in just to see him and not to buy anything. He very determinedly doesn't blush.

***

The store is relatively empty all day, no doubt because all the college students are at home trying to recover from midterms rather than out shopping for capos or guitar picks or whatever else they sell at the store. Danny thinks he should maybe make more of an effort to actually pay attention to what they do and don't sell.

Of the five or six customers who come in during Danny's shift, only one stands out, a gorgeous blonde girl in a plaid shirt, high waisted shorts and torn leggings, who walks in, wanders around the store for a few minutes, glancing at Danny every few moments, and then leaves without buying anything.

Danny didn't realize how boring it was working at the music shop before Isaac started coming in every day.

***

Isaac is waiting at the door, clutching something to his chest when Danny comes in the next morning to open.

"Hey," says Danny, pulling out his earbuds, cutting off the All Time Low he's listening to. He unlocks the door and walks inside, hitting the light switch on his way in. "We're not open for another half hour."

"I know," says Isaac. "I've got class in fifteen minutes anyways. I just. Uh. Here." He shoves the thing into Danny's hands and turns on his heel before Danny can even process what's happening.

he looks down at it once he's gotten inside and put down his bag behind the counter. It's a CD case, with a clearly hand decorated cover that says,  
"Not just the Decemberists:  
some songs that Danny insert last name here really needs to listen to"  
above a drawing of a boat at sea. Danny feels warm all at once, as if he'd just chugged a cup of hot coffee, and it hits him all at once that he's completely gone for the pretty hipster boy with the peacoat and the scarves and the unfairly perfect cheekbones.

He grins as he puts the disc into his laptop and plugs in his headphones, starting the first song as he searches the case for a track list.

"Hey Danny," says Stiles, slinging an arm around his shoulders and making him jump, dropping the case onto the counter in front of him. "What's that you got? You're not stealing, are you?"

"No," says Danny, snatching the CD case back up and slamming his laptop shut, stopping the singer mid "And if you don't love me let me go."

Stiles is too quick for him though, and he manages to grab the case right out of Danny's hands, his face splitting into a wide grin when he sees the cover. "Scott!" he calls, holding the case just out of Danny's grasp. "Scott we were both wrong it was a mixtape!"

There's a muffled "dude that's adorable!" from the back room, distracting Stiles just enough for Danny to snatch the CD case back out of his hand and slip it directly into his bag. 

"Do you even work here?"

"Does that matter?"

Danny points at the employees only sign above the curtain to the back room, raising his eyebrows. 

"I just - hey, you're deflecting!" protested Stiles, looking away from the sign and crossing his arms over his chest.

Danny just shrugs, putting his headphones back in and opening his laptop, turning the volume all the way up, effectively blocking out Stiles' frustrated squawks. He opens iTunes, creates a new playlist, and starts adding songs, not even really sure what he's doing until he's just adding the last song to it, and the exact same song starts playing on the CD. He laughs out loud, and he immediately knows what he has to do with it.

***

He has the CD waiting when Isaac comes in the next day, shutting the door quickly behind him to stop any of the snow that's been falling all morning from coming in and unwinding his scarf from around his face. His nose and cheeks are flushed pink from the cold, and Danny feels an overwhelming urge to kiss him. He resists, barely, and slides the CD forward on the counter for Isaac to take, feeling strangely proud. He'd made his friend Lydia help him do fancy calligraphy for the cover, carefully writing out "Fuck Justin Bieber: some songs to give Isaac insert last name here some understanding of popular culture," with one of her stupidly expensive calligraphy pens that he doesn't even know why she owns.

Isaac picks it up and smiles when he sees the cover, looking up at Danny through his eyelashes. "How much do I owe you?"

Danny laughs. "This one's one the house."

"You do that for all the boys who make you mix tapes?"

"Only the cute ones."

Isaac looks down again, cheeks still flushed, and Danny's smile widens as he stares at the boy, unsure how he's fallen this hard in less than two weeks.

"Do you need help finding anything today, or is this just a social call?" he asks finally, when it's clear Isaac's not going to say anything else.

"Oh, right!" says Isaac, finally tearing his eyes away from Danny's CD. "Um. My sister wanted that Florence + the Machine album? The newer one, I don't know what it's called."

Danny pushes himself off his stool behind the counter and walks around to the CDs, perfectly aware that they're all in alphabetical order and Isaac could easily find the one he wanted without his help, but not really caring. "You ever find your walnut acoustic or whatever it was that you were looking for?" he asks, moving past the Ds and Es.

"Yeah, found one on Craigslist," says Isaac, stopping to look at the Cs, pulling out a Cold War Kids CD.

"Oh?" asked Danny, suddenly wishing he knew a little more about guitars.

"Yeah, it's kinda beat up, but I think it should be okay with a few new strings."

Danny makes a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat and wonders if it would be considered inappropriate for him to ask for Isaac's number. He knows Scott would never fire him for it, considering he spends more than half of his time in the store getting stoned and making out with his boyfriend in the back room, but he doesn't want to make Isaac uncomfortable and stop him from coming back. On the other hand though, Isaac did make him a mixtape, and it's 90s teen movie law that a mixtape means you're interested in someone.

He's just about to open his mouth to ask when Isaac speaks again. "Shoot, I just realized what time it is. I've got to get to class."

"Oh, okay," says Danny, grabbing the Florence + the Machine CD from its spot between The Flobots and Flo Rida. "Here's your CD. You want me to put those behind the counter and you can come pay for them tomorrow?" he asks, gesturing to the CDs in Isaac's hand.

"Yeah, if you don't mind?"

"No problem."

"Thank you so much," says Isaac on his way out the door. "And I'll listen to that CD you made me tonight!"

Danny can't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

***

"You made me listen to One Direction."

"What?" asks Danny, looking up from his book in surprise when Isaac comes barging into the store.

"You made me listen to One Direction, and I liked it."

Danny's face splits into a grin. "Oh really?"

"I liked it so much that I googled the lyrics to find out who it was by and it was fucking One Direction," says Isaac with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

"They're very talented musicians," says Danny, putting his textbook aside.

Isaac sighs. "Yeah, they are."

"And they're really pretty."

"They're okay I guess."

Danny rolls his eyes. He doesn't know anyone who could ever look at Zayn Malik and describe him as "okay I guess" without lying. "Whatever. Are you just here to insult my taste in music or are you going to buy something?"

Isaac sighs. "I'll buy something if you promise not to tell Erica about this."

"Erica?"

"My equally hipstery sister."

A sudden thought strikes Danny. "Equally hipstery? Like, ripped leggings and plaid shirt kind of hipstery?"

"Yeah, that sounds like her, why?"

"Long, curly blonde hair, kinda looks like you?"

Isaac freezes. "I mean, she was my foster sister, so she doesn't look that much like me, but yeah, how did you know that?"

"I think she came in here a few days ago. Wandered around for a few minutes and spent most of her time staring at me and then left without saying anything."

"God damn- I'm gonna fucking kill her."

"What do you-" starts Danny, but Isaac is already rebuttoning his coat and heading for the door.

"I'm sorry, I'll see you tomorrow!" calls Isaac over his shoulder on the way out the door. "What time do you work?"

"We open at 10," says Danny, a little too shocked to say anything else. "Wait, you forgot your-" he stops as the door closes behind Isaac with the jingling of a bell, leaving Danny staring at his stack of CDs under the counter.

***

Isaac comes in at 10:01 the next morning, two coffee cups clutched in his hands. "I wanted to buy you coffee but then I realized I don't actually know what kind of coffee you like so I got you a caramel macchiato because that's what I get."

Danny laughs. "Come on, I'm gay but I'm not that gay."

"I guess next time I'll have to take you with me to get coffee then."

Danny freezes. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"I'm trying to."

Danny is silent for a moment, and he's just about to agree when he's interrupted.

"Dude, just say yes!" comes a muffled shout from behind the curtain to the back room, followed by a shushing and an "oh my god, shut up!"

Danny rolls his eyes and gestures for Isaac to come closer, leaning forward across the counter so he can whisper in his ear. "Yes, I'll go on a date with you."

Isaac's face splits into a grin, and he starts to move back, but Danny catches his chin with his fingers, pulling him forward so that he can kiss him gently. Isaac kisses him back enthusiastically, bracing one hand on the counter between them and moving the other up to cup Danny's cheek. 

"I can't hear anything, what are they doing?" Stiles stage whispers from behind the curtain. "Do you think they're kissing?"

Isaac pulls back with a breathless laugh, his cheeks flushed, and if Danny weren't at work, leaning awkwardly across a counter with his boss and his boss' nosy boyfriend right behind him, he'd pull Isaac back and kiss him again, possibly for several hours without stopping. He considers doing it anyways, but then the curtain behind him is opening and Stiles is stepping out, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Danny," he says with a nod. "Isaac."

"Stiles," says Danny, still smiling.

"Are you- is he smiling at me? Scott, Danny's smiling at me!"

"That's nice bro!" comes from behind the curtain.

"Wow, your dimples are really nice," says Stiles, grinning widely. "Have you ever considered swinging? Scott's had a music boner for Isaac for like - years."

"Um," says Danny.

"I'm so sorry," says Scott, finally appearing from the back room, grabbing Stiles by the arm, "He got a little too excited with the brownies."

"Bro," says Stiles, drawing out the 'O', "I didn't even have a whole one."

"You had like seven, dude." Scott grins, dragging Stiles towards the back room and turning to address Danny and Isaac, "Carry on."

Isaac turns back to Danny, smiling like he is trying very hard not to laugh.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry about them," says Danny, rolling his eyes. "Stiles' boundaries are iffy at best, and that's when he's sober. I mean, I think. I don't know if I've ever actually seen him sober."

"Trust me, he's not much better then. They had to stop smoking in the store for like a week before some inspector came in last year, and Stiles just sat out here and hit on all the customers the whole time. Said something about increasing business."

"Did it work?"

Isaac shrugs. "I don't know. It probably would've worked if you'd done it though. I wasn't even sure if you were flirting with me and I still came in here and spent money on unnecessary things every day to see you."

"For the record," says Danny, leaning forward and grabbing onto the front of Isaac's shirt, pulling him in for another tender kiss. "I totally was."

"Good," says Isaac breathlessly, his nose brushing against Danny's. "Because I really couldn't have afforded to do that for much longer on a college student's salary."

**Author's Note:**

> Pls follow me on [tumblr](http://boydbands.tumblr.com/) or whatever


End file.
